For many different uses, fabrics having a terry of boucle type effect are desirable. Such fabrics provide for desirable styling and texture effects, and in some environments the terry loops can also be functional.
According to the present invention, a fabric having all of the desirable attributes--from a functional and cost standpoint--of weft inserted warp knit fabrics is provided, which fabric also has the desirable attributes of a terry or boucle type effect. The fabric according to the present invention has a wide variety of uses, but is particularly useful for draperies and upholstery.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a weft inserted warp knit fabric is provided that is characterized in that at least some of the warp yarns form terry loops extending outwardly from one face (the technical back side) of the fabric. The fabric include a substrate to which the warp and weft yarns are stitch bonded, or it may be substrate-free. The terry loops may be provided so that they extend outwardly from substantially the entire face of the fabric, or may be disposed in an intermittent pattern so that they extend outwardly from only a part of the face of the fabric. A wide variety of styling features may be provided by the pattern of disposition, color, denier, and yarn count or density of the yarns forming the terry loops.
The invention also related to a method of making a weft inserted warp knit fabric on a weft-insertion warp knitting machine having warp feed rollers. The fabric according to the invention is produced by overfeeding at least some of the warp yarns to the machine so that they form terry loops extending outwardly from a face of the fabric produced. A typical overfeeding ratio is in a range of about 2.5:1 to 5:1. The warp knitting machine may include feed rollers having electromagnetic clutches, and the terry loops may be disposed intermittently by selectively activating and deactivating the electro-magnetic clutches. The erectness of the terry loops--i.e. the degree of which they extend outwardly from the fabric face--may be varied by varying the knitting yarn denier and/or the stitch length.
According to the present invention upholstery and draperies may be constructed from weft inserted warp knit fabric having terry loops, the draperies and upholstery so produced having the functional and cost advantages of weft inserted warp knit fabrics, and also having the desired styling effects of conventional terry or boucle effect fabrics.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a weft inserted warp knit fabric having terry loops, as well as a method of construction, and products of construction. This and other objects of the invention will become clear from an inspection of the detailed description of the invention, and from the appended claims.